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Bloomington Herald-Times articles

Sept. 4, 2007

Music School's Helen Clouse was a friend to 47 years of music students; Indiana University's oldest employee dies at age 100By James Boyd
September 4, 2007

If her life is ever transposed into a musical score, the 47 years Helen Clouse spent at Indiana University will likely be denoted by a legato.

The Italian word translates to "tied," but on sheet music, it means a series of notes held together.

For the duration of her tenure at the Jacobs School of Music, where she coordinated practice room schedules, helped cook elaborate Christmas meals, and comforted the bluest of blues players, Clouse was the string that tied the place together.

She died Sunday at the age of 100, leaving a void some say will never be filled.

"Because of her winsome personality, and her ability to identify with the students, Helen could provide comfort when students needed comforting, and excitement when they, too, were excited," former music school dean Charles Webb said Monday. "She was a counselor, a friend. She had money if they needed change. She had candy, Kleenex, or stamps. In a large school where it's possible people could feel a bit lonesome or not a part of the whole fabric, Helen Clouse was a very humanizing factor."

She was hired in 1960, and worked up until just a few weeks ago. At 100 years old, she was without a doubt Indiana University's oldest employee. Her official title was 'pratice room proctor,' where her primary responsibility was to organize the availability of dozens of practice rooms for students. But she grew so close to those whose dreams she helped lift that Helen Clouse transcended ranks and responsibilities.

"This is the end of an era," Webb said. "We don't have anyone else like her around. We have lots of dedicated people and all have important work to do, but hers cut across the entire school in a way probably no other single position does."

This past May 1, on her 100th birthday, many gathered to celebrate as the space in front of the Music Practice Building was christened the "Helen Clouse Plaza."

On that day, many former students returned to wish their friend well. And many found themselves quickly outwitted by a woman two to three times their own age.

"We had a number of alums come back to Bloomington for that," Jacobs School Dean Gwyn Richards said Monday afternoon. "And Helen would say, 'Robert, why did you like practice room 14-B?' They'd long forgotten the number of their practice rooms, but she remembered all of them!"

Webb said Clouse served every role imaginable for the students.

"She was a person with a name and face that had the time and interest for them," he said, "so she became a mother and a confessor, a personal friend. She was a part and parcel of the School of Music. Everybody knew her. She was always a person who had empathy, who had time, and was willing to spend it with the students. It was a wonderful experience to know her because of the vital role she played."

Though she was in close proximity to some of the most talented aspiring musicians in the world, Clouse herself wasn't much of a music-maker.

She'd regularly attend concerts and performances, hearing final versions of the songs whose first notes were often played in the lonely practice rooms Clouse would assign.

"She saw a student who had a need and she was going to meet that need," Richards said. "Students needed more than just pratice rooms. She was the person you went to if you needed change or advice. She was wise. She counseled the students and provided all kinds of things that they needed."

Just days before she turned 100, Helen Clouse told a reporter why she'd done what she did for all those years.

Backed by a crowd of 7,423, the largest in school history, Indiana was in mid-season form Sunday in a 1-0 college soccer victory over No. 1 UCLA.

Kevin Noshang's goal from seven yards away at 74:52 put the cap on a 90-minute effort in which the Hoosiers outshot the Bruins 14-9 and frequently dominated play at midfield. It marked the second time in four years that the Hoosiers have beaten UCLA when the West Coast team carried the No. 1 ranking. In 2003 IU upset the supposedly invincible Bruins 2-1 in Los Angeles and continued on to win the NCAA championship in Jerry Yeagley's last season as coach.

UCLA also suffered a 2-1 overtime loss to Notre Dame Friday while the Hoosiers were playing a 1-1 tie with Maryland. The Terrapins left Bloomington as champion of the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic via a 3-0 pounding of the Irish Sunday. The overall winner was based on goal differential.

In Friday's game Noshang also got a goal but it was answered in just more than a minute by Maryland . Sunday the Hoosiers made certain the aggressive visitors wouldn't tie it up.

Indiana coach Mike Freitag also said Friday that IU was the second-best team on the field. He needed no such analogy Sunday.

"We wanted to take it to UCLA today and match them speed for speed and ball for ball. We wanted to go out there and win and put our game plan on them and make them change their style of play. I thought we did a good job today," said IU's Ofori Sarkodie.

"It wasn't going to happen again," Noshang said. "We knew we were the best team in the tournament, in our minds. Maryland is a great team but we wanted to focus on UCLA, getting our first win, so we're happy."

The all-tournament team included the Hoosiers' Noshang, Sarkodie, Chay Cain and Kevin Alston, who was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player. IU's Charley Traylor won the Fair Play Award. Maryland's Graham Zusi was the offensive MVP and other Terps on the all-tournament team were Stephen King, Michael Marchiano and Omar Gonzalez.

"We were pretty good today. Traditionally these Sunday afternoon games after playing Friday have been not good," Freitag admitted. "Our bench came up big and really helped us win this game."

"The other night I was disappointed because I know what these guys can do. I give credit to Maryland and Maryland's going to have a great season, but I think we didn't show our composure. But we've been together for two weeks," Freitag said.

UCLA put pressure on Indiana after the goal but the closest to a score came when Chance Myers' header from in close bounced off the crossbar with 6:10 remaining.

"We weren't going to let this one slip away. The communication went up, the intensity went up, the awareness went up from all the players. The defending, I thought, was spectacular toward the end, " said Sarkodie, the Hoosiers' standout back.

Sarkodie described his team as having "pretty good balance."

"I feel like we're a well-rounded team that cares for each other and is willing to work for each other," he said. "You're going to be in it over the long haul with these guys and everyone's going to do their job."

"We knew a goal was going to come," Noshang said. "There was a lot of buildup before the goal that indicated it was coming."

Describing the goal, Noshang said, "We played a long ball when (Brian) Ackley got subbed in because we like to utilize his height. He brought it down and, luckily, I was there, and I knew from seven yards out if I made good contact there was no way he was going to stop it. I just put my foot behind it and it went in."

The goal found the upper right corner of the net behind goalkeeper Brian Perk and Noshang said there was no doubt that would end the scoring.

"I don't think Coach Freitag was going to let us give up a goal. He would have dove on the field," Noshang said.

Maryland dominated Notre Dame in the classic's other second-round game, outshooting the Fighting Irish 17-3 in posting the 3-0 victory. King, Zusi and Drew Yates scored for the Terrapins (1-1). Notre Dame didn't have a shot or a corner kick in the first period.

Indiana football: Sycamores no match for Hoosiers; Lewis throws for three scores, runs for another in 55-7 romp in season-opener at StadiumBy Doug Wilson
September 2, 2007

BLOOMINGTON — Indiana did what it was expected to do in its season opener — bury an overmatched Indiana State squad.

On a night when the Hoosiers and their fans paid tribute to late coach Terry Hoeppner, Indiana scored the most points it had since putting 56 on the board against Northwestern in 2001.

The 55-7 win, played before a crowd of 34,715 at Memorial Stadium, also marked the most points for IU in a season-opener since a 72-0 win over Fort Knox in 1944.

"These kids have really worked hard and endured a lot," said Bill Lynch, who won his first game as IU's head coach. "We sensed all week that they were ready to play and I'm really happy for them."

Facing a Football Championship Subdivison team (formerly I-AA) that has now played 29 games over the past 2 1/2 seasons with just one win during that stretch, the Hoosiers may not have proven much about their prospects for the season ahead.

But they did demonstrate their big-play ability in the passing game and they showed some progress on defense.

Junior wide receiver James Hardy led the onslaught, catching passes of 79, 58 and 16 yards in the first half to lead Indiana to a 31-7 halftime advantage. Those three catches gave Hardy a season debut of three catches for 153 yards.

Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis began his sophomore season by completing 12-of-21 passes for 285 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Lewis was also IU's leading rusher with 59 yards on nine carries.

Lynch said it was such a big night for the Hoosiers that they came out tight early, until Lewis and Hardy got the team rolling.

"It was a case of two really good players who made some plays and got us going until the other guys loosened up," Lynch said. "After that, I thought the defense set the tempo."

Indiana State scored its lone touchdown after a penalty on Hardy for celebrating in the end zone by sliding on his knees after the 58-yard score. The 15-yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff helped give the Sycamores great starting field position at the ISU 44.

Indiana State took advantage with a 56-yard scoring drive, but that was one of the Sycamores' few highlights of the night.

Indiana, missing fewer tackles than it has in most games in recent years, held ISU to 176 total yards. Last year, IU's defense gave up fewer than 330 yards only once, when Michigan State accumulated 215 yards of offense.

The Hoosiers also sacked Indiana State quarterback Reilly Murphy five times. Last year, IU finished last in the Big Ten last season with 14 sacks.

"I thought we had a lot of pressure and a lot of hits," Lynch said of the pass rush. "I hope that's something that becomes a trademark of this team because I think we have some guys who can run."

IU had two players leave the game with injuries — starting left tackle Rodger Saffold and backup safety Joe Kleinsmith, who appeared to injure a hamstring while returning an interception.

Lynch said he didn't know the status of either player after the game, but he was of the impression that Saffold could have re-entered the game if necessary.

The Hoosiers will travel in their second game to play at Western Michigan, which is one of the favorites to win the MAC championship this year. The Broncos lost at No. 3 West Virginia Saturday, 62-24.

"I've been up there to Kalamazoo a lot of times and that's a tough place to play," Lynch said. "We're going to enjoy this win tonight and then start getting ready for the Broncos."

BLOOMINGTON — Although Terry Hoeppner left us two months ago, he was all over the place at Memorial Stadium Saturday night.

From the time you received your "Hep" button as you walked into the stadium, you were reminded of the late Hoosier coach.

Just before kickoff, you got to see Hoeppner's immediate family receive a standing ovation as the student section chanted, "Terry Hoeppner. Terry Hoeppner."

Then the fans turned to their attention to the big screen for a short video of Hoeppner in action. It was vintage Hoeppner — singing the fight song with his players, hopping into the student section, hamming it up in front of a camera.

Hearing his voice also was reassuring. "â'Coach Hep' wants you," he said.

After the video, players and fans paused for moment of silence, then the players retired to the lockerroom for last-minute preparations. There was still a football game to played. It helped that they had a previous look at the video the night before the game.

"They showed us the video last night so that we would be prepared," captain Josiah Sears said, "but it was still very emotional."

Emotion can supply some useful energy at times, but emotion alone isn't enough. As Sears added, "Once that emotional point is over, you have to play football. You have to adjust your focus."

Unheralded Indiana State had an incentive of a different kind, respect. Football Championship Subdivision, formerly I-AA, schools are wont to have that chip on their shoulder, and the Sycamores were surely buoyed by the effort of another FCS school earlier in the day — Appalachian State. If Appalachian State can go into Michigan's Big House and knock off the Wolverines, then ISU could go into a much less threatening environment and win. The Hoosiers were mindful of that.

"That game ended about the time we had our pre-game meal," IU coach Bill Lynch said. "There was a lot of buzz about it, so we didn't have to say anything to them."

If that didn't serve as a warning to the Hoosiers, last year's loss to Southern Illinois should have. That was a game the Hoosiers wanted to win for Hoeppner after he had to excuse himself for medical reasons. The Hoosiers jumped out to an early 14-point lead against the Salukis, but once the initial emotion wore off, so did their edge.

After Indiana State cut IU's early 14-0 lead in half with a second-quarter touchdown, you wondered if the Hoosiers had hit that emotional wall. Even the fans seemed to lose their enthusiasm.

Give some credit to the Sycamores, who came out in a no-huddle offense and tried to take the game to Indiana. But to the Hoosiers' credit, they continued to make plays. The long touchdown passes to James Hardy certainly qualified as plays, and so did the sacks supplied by the defense.

Hardy had Hoeppner in mind when he celebrated his first long touchdown catch by sliding on his knees in the end zone, drawing a 15-yard penalty for excess.

"Honestly, if I had known I was going to get that (penalty), I wouldn't have done it," Hardy said. "I was just celebrating for Coach Hep.'"

Once the game no longer was in doubt, the students headed back to their tailgate parties and took the remaining energy with them. So it wasn't the kind of rousing victory that made for a feel-good story, but it was a purposeful one.

In the end, this was one of those games a team just had to get through so it could go on with the rest of the season. The emotion will certainly resurface from time to time, but it won't be the focal point as it was Saturday night.

Hoeppner himself would want the Hoosiers to move on. He would tell them there are a lot of games to be played yet.

Said Hardy, "Coach Hep would have said, 'Great job, enjoy for it for tonight but in the morning forget about it.' "